Chapter 253. They say the battle was lost!
2022.07.05.
“her?”
For a moment, the tip of Oscar’s sword shook.
I saw what I couldn’t see.
Mabel wasn’t the only one who saw Aidan’s smile. Oscar, who was approaching Mabel while slashing the beast, also witnessed it.
Squeak-.
Oscar, who had slashed the beast that was aiming at Esteban’s back, spoke with his back.
“Emperor. Isn’t that bastard… flirting?”
Esteban looked sideways in the direction of Mabel and frowned.
“You’re just going out.”
“Even if it wasn’t for God…”
The two men quickly cut off the beasts as if to vent their anger. It was to the extent that the nearby soldiers slipped away from that bloody hand.
“I need to kill him quickly and go to Mabel, Father.”
“Yes, I will.”
The Ermano father and son resolutely swung their swords to defend Mabel’s side.
***
‘No surprise.’
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Aidan smile. Very occasionally, I would burst out laughing or smile lightly.
However, it was the first time I saw him smile as brightly as this time, so it felt strange.
I was looking blankly at Aidan, but the laughter disappeared in an instant, and Aidan grabbed my shoulder and pulled me.
Kuwo!
There was a thump of something heavy behind my back. It seemed that Aidan had defeated the Witchbeast.
“Be careful.”
“I didn’t know you were approaching.”
“it’s okay. When I am by your side.”
I could feel Aidan’s will to protect me no matter what.
‘It’s strong…’
The broad shoulders, the big hands covering the shoulders, the solid chest that you can feel when you touch it. Every time I felt that Aidan was a man, somehow my heart felt tight.
It seems like we are having a really deep love affair, not the playful affection we normally exchange.
“There are no demons in this area anymore!”
Since it wasn’t a threatening beast in the first place, the situation went smoothly.
There were no injuries at all, but only minor injuries such as falls or scratches.
The unexpected attack ended with several monsters rushing to the habitat.
***
Inside the temporary barracks.
As soon as the situation was over, reports of damage continued immediately.
Mabel received the report with a serious expression.
“The wounded are ten soldiers and two knights, all with minor injuries. In addition, three deserters fled with a supply wagon.”
“Your affiliation?”
“These are the 3rd platoon searchers under Baron Geffrin.”
“Right.”
Mabel’s expression darkened even more. The expression of the commander-in-chief who was in charge of the report also became serious.
‘Are you uncomfortable with this raid…’
However, there was another reason why Mabel’s planting was bad.
‘hungry.’
Unexpectedly, when they were preparing dinner, an unfortunate incident occurred when the ingredients were all overturned due to the attack of the beasts.
It couldn’t be anything but lightning to Mabel, who was excited about eating meat grilled over a campfire.
‘Meat… it spoils quickly, so you can only eat it at the beginning of the march! My browned meat!’
Mabel clenched her fists and let go of her anger.
‘Beron this bastard…’
Turning all of this anger on Veron, who had planned the stealing operation at that time.
However, in the eyes of the commander-in-chief, who had no way of knowing Mabel’s intentions, it seemed that the emperor was just quite resentful of the situation.
He looked closely at the Emperor and Hwang Sang-jae with great tension.
“I will organize a pursuit team soon. I wouldn’t have been able to get away yet. If you use a moving magic tool, you might be able to catch it.”
Mabel shook her head as she looked up at the commander-in-chief, who was determined to capture the deserter.
“are you okay.”
“Did you not hear me?”
“It’s okay. Do not chase.”
The commander-in-chief stammered at the unexpected order.
“But wasn’t it important to His Majesty…?”
Everyone here vividly remembered the sight of Mabel anxiously reaching for the carriage and shouting,
“oh. no! My essence!”
The voice that made me feel rather emotionless because of how embarrassed I was.
Embarrassed again, Mabel cleared her throat and made excuses.
“Hmm. It’s an important item, but isn’t it time to regroup and advance to the border? We can’t waste our energy trying to get the supply wagon back. If any deserters are found later, they will be dealt with according to military law.”
Those who did not know about the essence of the Genesis tree simply knew that the deserters had fled with supply boxes. Of course, I didn’t think that Devlin was behind it.
‘Of course they will protest, right?’
Anticipating that, Mabel looked up and was taken aback by the sparkling eyes looking at her.
“As expected, His Majesty is deep inside!”
“Yes?”
“You gave up even your most important things for the sake of the military…!”
“What?”
All the military officers began to look at Mabel with a look of respect.
‘This was stolen on purpose…’
Mabel, who suddenly became a devoted emperor.
“Cheup.”
His aides who knew the truth shut their mouths and began to hold back their laughter.
And since you can’t say no to that, there was only one thing Mabel could say.
“Thank you for recognizing Jim’s hard work.”
“your majesty…!”
Mabel’s benevolent smile made the military commanders look moved. Mabel waved her hand to break the atmosphere.
“Now go out.”
“yes!”
After they escaped, the only ones left in the barracks were Mabel’s aides.
Lisandro, who had been laughing with her shoulders up, burst into laughter.
“Do you know how surprised I was to see that Your Majesty’s acting skills are so good? I thought I was reading a book!”
“Lesndre.” (Lisandro.)
When Mabel, gritting his teeth, called out to Lisandro, he shut up.
“The first plan is successful.”
I don’t know where it came from, said Enrique, handing the jerky to Mabel. Even if it wasn’t, Mabel, who was hungry, nodded while accepting the jerky.
“The problem starts now.”
He had to subdue Veron, who had become a demigod, to keep him on the ground.
Being a suspicious person, I wasn’t sure if things would go according to plan. However, there was only one way.
‘I have no choice but to try.’
.
.
.
We finally reached the border.
Not far away, Devlin’s imperial flag could be seen fluttering. Mabel held the Yelium in her hand. I could feel where Veron was.
‘It’s in Devlin Imperial Castle.’
Is it waiting or arrogance for not showing up despite knowing that Ermano-kun followed closely to the border?
Mabel, holding the Divine Spear, shouted as she raised her head towards the north.
“Let’s go!”
At that cry, Ermano’s army advanced northward.
Now was the time to move on. Even if you back away right away.
***
The atmosphere in the capital city was turbulent after the departure of the army of Ermano.
In the absence of the Emperor and Emperor Sanghwangje, it was the Marquis of Gardenia, Duke Donovan, and a total of three Dukes, including Javier, who took on the role of the Emperor’s proxy in handling important matters.
Gustav, who suddenly had three temporary bosses, diligently moved around among them and faithfully assisted them.
Duke Donovan looked over the papers piled up in the conference room and asked Gustav.
“Is this all?”
“no. First of all, I brought only urgent matters.”
“Bring them all.”
Gustav’s face turned red at Duke Donovan’s words. I was really impressed.
‘The best boss!’
It was on a different level from Ms. Emo, who works diligently but runs out whenever she hears about her daughter, and Ms. Memo, who has a head but is serious about how to goof around.
Unlike Duke Donovan, who tried to take care of all the work while he came, the Marquis of Gardenia made a sound of pain.
“Take away the old man.”
“Don’t be rude.”
“Kuhm.”
At Duke Donovan’s tip, the Marquis of Gardenia, who values preserving face, sat quietly.
“I have to work diligently to handle everything.”
Emily had already started looking at the papers a long time ago.
The three of them started processing paperwork in perfect harmony, as if they had been working together for a long time.
The agenda, which was difficult for the person to judge, was decided by a majority vote after passionate discussions.
“I have no experience in that part, so the Marquis must be right. Then we will deal with it that way.”
Even with the two pillars of imperial politics in front of her, Emily was not pushed back in the slightest.
‘As expected, it’s like a close friend that Our Majesty keeps by his side. Isn’t it very wise and clever.’
The Marquis of Gardenia was pleased with Mabel’s eyes and observed Emily.
Feeling the gaze, Emily tilted her head.
“Why is that?”
“hmm. Duke Javier, your quill seems to be of a pretty high quality.”
The Marquis of Gardenia, Tarnye, only praised what she could see, but Emily smiled shyly.
“You mean this quill? It is a gift from His Majesty the Emperor.”
…Your Majesty!
At that name, the atmosphere in the meeting room changed in an instant. It was a moment of more tension than when we had a heated discussion.
The Marquis of Gardenia was quite taken aback by the unexpected source of the quill. Suddenly, the quality quill he was holding could not look so shabby.
Unable to lose, the Marquis of Gardenia subtly touched the cufflinks.
“It is a very nice quill. As expected, His Majesty has an excellent eye. I received these cufflinks from His Majesty. How is it?”
“Are those cufflinks… the ones you picked out with me? It suits you well.”
“Kuk.”
It was the second consecutive defeat of the Marquis of Gardenia. In an instant, the eyes of the two collided fiercely in the air.
Why? For some reason, I don’t want to step back even an inch…!
It was the moment when their competitive spirit, who wanted to be the best in the Mabel field, sparked.
“You know what, Duke Javier? His Majesty once wrote me a letter.”
“Ho Ho. Letters are often exchanged. I like it because it feels old. But lately, I tend to use communication magic tools.”
“A sat communication magic tool?”
“Isn’t the Marquis of Gardenia using it yet?”
“Hmm. I don’t really like tools like that…”
“Your Majesty first developed it at Ermano, right?”
“That’s like that…”
Even the Marquis of Gardenia, the leader of the aristocratic faction, said to have no blood or tears, was helpless in front of his granddaughter’s best friend.
The most difficult thing in the middle of the fight was Gustav.
‘My work is getting late…’
Gustav looked at Duke Donovan, the last hope of the empire, with grungy eyes. Understanding the meaning of those eyes, Duke Donovan intervened.
“Both of you, stop.”
The two of them sighed and shut their mouths. Duke Donovan added a word.
“Isn’t it more important what we gave to His Majesty than showing off what we received from His Majesty?”
hot. The Marquis of Gardenia, who had been stabbed, asked insinuatingly.
“Then what did Duke Donovan do for His Majesty?”
I thought I wouldn’t be able to answer, but I didn’t. Duke Donovan replied calmly, without the slightest hesitation.
“I spent more time with the Marquis than I did with the Marquis.”
“…”
It was the complete defeat of the Marquis of Gardenia.
It is true that he spent less time with Mabel than Duke Donovan.
“Then I’m going to your Majesty-!”
It was just then that the second round was about to break out. With the sound of urgent footsteps, someone opened the door roughly and came in.
“Who are you!”
The door burst open at the screams of the Marquis of Gardenia. The one who pushed in despite the rudeness was the messenger. He shouted an unbelievable sad news before he could catch his breath.
“It’s a big deal! Our army…”
“Our army?”
“They say our army lost the first battle!”
News of Ermano’s defeat.
“Defeat?!”
Emily and the Marquis of Gardenia jumped out of their seats and stood up. No one was surprised.
“…!”
Even Duke Donovan, who had been calm all along.
